Graveyard Shift
Description Jim Steinman offers this description of the Batman opening sequence, consisting of this song and "Angels Arise": "It starts with 'Vespers' coming from the Gotham Cathedral, then into 'The Song of Gotham City' which includes, for the first time, the 'Angels Arise' melody (later 'Appropriated & annexed & snatched' for Vampires, where it was wasted. We see the Gothamites fearing the onset of night, pulling those metal sliding 'doors/barriers' down and filling with oncoming terror as a storm approaches. The soprano is a Salvation Army woman on the street in front of the cathedral. Then: 'we rise up' to see the entire panoramic vista of all of Gotham City. And from the darkness, amidst gargoyles and turrets and spires (oh my!), suddenly we see a gargoyle come alive -- its Batman, watching all before & below him. He sings 'The Graveyard Shift', on the Gothic rooftops, a human, watchful, vengeful dark presence. Then he's gone! During his aria, a parade of characters pass by: Selena Kyle/Catwoman, The Joker, various city dwellers and 'villains' we'll meet later on..."http://jimsteinman.blogspot.com/2006/07/midnight-july-20-06.html Versions Jim Steinman on a Batman demo recording Similar Songs This song shares musical and lyrical elements with "Bad for Good." Lyrics Hear the screams of the mad and desperate Hear the cries of the lost and lonely There are things that happen only in the dark That's the sound of an old dream dying And that's the birth of an original sin There are things that happen only in the dark And I see it all I see it All the devils are rising As all of the angels are starting to fall Maybe it's a curse Maybe it's a gift But I see it all I work the graveyard shift I work the graveyard shift I work the graveyard shift God speed God speed God speed, speed us away God speed God speed God speed, speed us away God speed God speed God speed, speed us away Safe home, safe... Only in the dark all the criminals gather Always searching for the ultimate crime Chaos and corruption and annihilation Infinite victims, infinitesimal time And it's time to unleash the furies Stop it now and draw a line in the sand This is where all the evil festers Only in the dark I will make my stand And I see it all I see it All the devils are rising As all of the angels are starting to fall Maybe it's a curse Maybe it's a gift But I see it all I work the graveyard shift I work the graveyard shift I work the graveyard shift God speed God speed God speed, speed us away God speed God speed God speed, speed us away God speed God speed God speed, speed us away Safe home, safe home God speed God speed God speed, speed us away The nightmares never end I never sleep, I never wake And after all these years I dedicate myself To the memories of the innocent destroyed by crime And to my parents who I buried When I was only eight To all the ghosts long departed To all the ghosts who still wait I swear, I vow Right here, right now All of the angels are falling As all of the devils are starting to rise Now the time has come Now it's time to stop Is there anybody here who does not hear these cries?! I work the graveyard shift Category:Songs Category:Batman: The Musical